being at the seminar was a good start to some deeper thinking for what will be a long term ongoing process to rethink what ministry to teens and their families will look like. it’s something that i’ve been chewing on for a long time and i’m glad to be in a group that’s thinking about it.
this would have been something good to do for the entire week because there just won’t be enough time to do more than scratch the surface. one of the biggest tools we were given is a lot of the background and thinking that can help us do our homework to shape new thinking. thanks for all the stats, history, student longings, culture and forward predictions. kinda info overload, but if we use these as the tools to evaluate and dream, then we’ll be closer to hitting our goal of helping kids liveCHRIST than if we keep doing the same outdated things.
one thing i’m thinking is not that we have to throw everything out, but have to be able to use, mix and tweak what we know with the new ideas we are learning and discovering about the new world in front of us.
another reoccurring theme has been inter-generational. how can we minimize the student ministry club and reintroduce them to their parents, families, grandparents and the breadth of ages and people in the church.
yet another thing is that everything will change with the current information and tech glut. the way kids think, use information and media, have technology and interact with each other makes for a brave new world that not many understand or know what to do with.
hard, but exciting and challenging. i know i’m SOOOOO HAPPY to be in the kind of church that
i won’t have to martyr myself in to see some of these new ideas be tried and take place.
so my question is, what kinds of things will we start doing differently based on some of this thinking an research?
here are a couple of mine i'm thinking through...- more time on campus and at events with students where they are
- look for ways to reconnect students with their families in a setting they would be willing to try [mission trip, service day, sports?]
- connect our group to at least one group of a different culture/race/ethnicity
pax: ty
1 comment:
Liked your thoughts. One of the things I read in Starfish and the Spider was about Hybrid organizations. These were organizations mostly "Spider" ones who decentralized the "experience" people had with the organization. So they were starfish organizations in the experience people had with it. So what does that mean for the church. How can we change without having to throw everything out. Can we be a really good Hybrid.
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